Ireland top of the world for quality-of-life index says new survey (MAP)

Six years after the collapse of the Celtic Tiger economy, an illustrated map of the world lists Ireland as being tops in the Quality of Life category, while its neighbor across the Irish Sea leads in . . . Fascist Movements.

The map, created by artists at Doghousediaries.com, uses a wide range of statistics to determine each nation’s claim to fame – or infamy. Russia, for example, leads the world in raspberries and nuclear warheads, while Gabon has cornered the market in sun-tailed monkeys. In Australia, they lead in cricket and melanoma; in Japan, they have the most robots. Jordan, not surprisingly, lays claim to the world’s largest falafel balls.

Ireland’s top ranking in quality of life is based on The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2005 report. They scored 111 countries based on nine indicators: health; family life; community life; material well-being; political stability and security; climate and geography; job security; political freedom and gender equality.

Following Ireland in the quality of life rankings are Australia (6) United States (13), Canada (14) and the UK (29).